Updated at: 12-07-2022 - By: Lucas

You’ve seen the overdrive button on your car before, but have you ever used it? Do you even know what it does? We’ll talk about both of these things and tell you how they can help you.

Overdrive is a setting on automatic transmissions that lets the engine run at a lower number of revolutions per minute by giving it access to an extra high gear (RPMs). This makes the vehicle run more efficiently when it will be going fast for a long time.

Want to learn more about the overdrive button and how to use it most effectively? Then read on to find out how it can help you.

What is the Overdrive Button?

When you drive at high speeds for a long time, the overdrive button keeps your engine from having to work harder than it needs to. This is great for long drives on the freeway because it lets you keep a high speed at a steady rate.

When you drive, this button will keep the higher gears from putting too much pressure on the engine. This will help your car use less gas while you’re on the road.

This is a great thing to use when you’re driving fast and don’t need to speed up or slow down often, like when there’s a lot of traffic. It’s not made for slower speeds or city streets, though.

If you press the overdrive button while going less than 50 miles per hour, the speed can change at a dangerously fast rate. If you used it on regular streets, you might damage your car.

The back of your transmission is hooked up to an electric and hydraulic gear that is part of an overdrive system. This system can help make the speed of the output faster than the speed of the input.

Since you did this, the output shaft is now turning faster than the input shaft. This is where the name of the term comes from!

Most newer cars have these overdrive buttons, while older cars don’t always have them. They are often built into some modern cars as standard equipment.

Situations When I Should Use the Overdrive Button

Well, we’ve already talked about the first one, which is when you drive at the same speed for a long time on the highway. But you can also use it when going downhill, which is often the most common situation.

You put a lot of pressure on your car’s brakes when you’re going down a steep hill, but you put a lot more pressure on them when you have to use them all the time. When you are stuck in traffic on a hill, this can happen.

This won’t let you speed up when you want to, nor will it let you keep a steady speed. So, in this case, pressing the overdrive button will keep your car’s RPMs just above idle without putting too much pressure on the brakes.

This will let you keep your car moving at a slow speed without having to speed up or stop and move forward like everyone else.

Benefits of Using Overdrive

What Is The Overdrive Button On Car-2

When you use the overdrive button right, you get a number of benefits.

This can make your car last longer, use less gas, and run more quietly while you’re driving.

So, there are many good reasons to use overdrive or add one to your car if it doesn’t come with one.

1. Longevity

Because the overdrive helps take some of the stress and pressure off the engine when there is the most of it. By doing this, you are taking better care of your engine.

This will make the engine last longer than it would if the overdrive wasn’t used. So, your engine will run better over time.

And if you get in the habit of using it whenever you need to, it will help your engine last even longer.

2. Fuel Efficiency

Anyone can add an overdrive button to their car, so it doesn’t matter if you have a truck, a sedan, or a small car; you’ll still be able to use it. If your car already gets good gas mileage, you can improve it to get even better gas mileage.

But if you put it on a car that doesn’t get as good gas mileage, it will help you spend less on that car.

Also, if you have more than one car, put it on the one you use the most.

This will help you get the most out of the overdrive since the car will be on the road for much longer.

This can be especially helpful if you usually only use one car for your daily commute, which is usually when you should use the overdrive.

3. Quieter Operation

Since the overdrive button keeps the car going at a steady speed with a lower RPM, the engine can run with less noise. When you use the overdrive, this makes the car run more quietly overall.

This can help keep the decibel level of your louder vehicles, like big trucks, at a lower level. If your car is already quiet, this won’t make much of a difference, but you may still hear a difference.

If you have a loud car and want to lower the volume, using the overdrive will make the car quieter.

It’s important to know that this won’t work the same way if you don’t have the overdrive on. This will only make the sound quieter when the overdrive button is on.

What if My Vehicle Doesn’t Come with an Overdrive Button?

Not all cars, especially older ones with automatic transmissions, have an overdrive button. If yours doesn’t have an overdrive button and you want one, you can add one.

You can add an overdrive button to the transmission you already have by putting one on it. Most of the time, this is just a smaller version of the transmission that is added to the back of the main one.

With the addition of an overdrive, you’ll be able to use the button when you’re going fast or when you’re stuck in traffic. This will help you save money on gas and keep your engine running better for longer.

This doesn’t need to be installed by a professional, so it won’t cost as much as you might think. So, you won’t have to add the cost of hiring a professional to the price of the unit.

How Much Does Adding Overdrive Cost?

The price of the overdrive you buy will be very different. This is because there are so many choices.

There will be cheaper options that get good gas mileage, and there will also be more expensive options that get much better mileage. Most of the time, these options will cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.

So, you should have an idea of how much you can spend before you start shopping for an overdrive. Otherwise, it could be easy to spend more than you can afford. But if you know something about cars, you can skip having a professional do the job.

If you can do the work yourself, this will save you a few hundred dollars. Also, there are special instructions that will help you through the process, so you will have some help along the way.

Final thoughts on using overdrive

If you’ve never thought about what an overdrive button is or what it does, you could be letting your car down in a few ways. You could make your car better in many ways by using or adding an overdrive button, like making it run more quietly or saving gas.

Not all cars come with them, but it’s easy to add one to the car you already have. So, now that you know what an overdrive button does and when to use it, you can decide if you want to add one to your car and get the benefits that come with it.

When you drive a car, you should try to learn as much as you can about it so you can take care of it and make it last as long as possible. This will not only save you money, but it will also make your drive smoother every time.

So, whether you already have an overdrive or want to add one, using it can help your car when it most needs it.